Organization: Students for a Free Tibet
To all,
The following is an update to a previous email that was sent out after the SFT National Conference.
The 2nd Annual National SFT Conference is now over and much thanks goes to the folks at Brown University, speakers, organizers, and attendees. As you know to meet the needs of the student movement and the need to further mobilize, SFT went through an election process to vote in Regional Directors from 7 Regions + Canada. This group now makes up the SFT Board of Directors. Can you believe this is where we are? You are ALL to be applauded!!!!!
These RD's will be responsible for strategizing, mobilizing, and communicating the needs of local chapters and for communicating coordinated national campaigns from the movement. The RDs will work closely with the National Office as well as each of the new SFT Action Groups: Political Action, Economic Action, Interfaith Action, Outreach and Mobilization, Financing SFT, Building Bridges, and Coordinated Actions. The RDs will be holding this position for 1 year and at next year's conference, elections will be held to elect a new group of RDs.
Please note that RDs are working as volunteers for the purpose of mobilizing and making our group more effective - there is no hierarchy just a method of communicating. We're all very excited and inspired by the following people who have been elected to SFT's Board of Directors and want to thank all those who worked very, very hard as members of the SFT Task Force. Together we will continue to work with organizations such as Milarepa
Fund in the areas of education and economic action and International Campaign for Tibet in the area of political lobbying. Milarepa contacts are as follows:
Milarepa Fund
443 Tehama St., 3rd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94103
415-278-9889
415-278-9876 (fax)
general email = milarepa@milarepa.org
Erin Potts, Executive Director e@milarepa.org
Andrew Bryson, Assistant Director
Grant Administration raspa@milarepa.org
Deyden Tethong, Education Coordinator deyden@milarepa.org
Jon Voss, Economic Action Coordinator jonvoss@milarepa.org
Josh Schrei, Boycott Coordinator cryingboy@milarepa.org
John Dinusson, Research, Econ Action johnd@milarepa.org
Tashi Dhondup, Artistic Director/Outreach Techung@milarepa.org
In addition, we will need to work closely with ICT especially in the area of political action. I've asked Mary Beth Markey for her assistance. An excellent template is how the Free Burma Coalition currently operates. Much news on legisltative economic actions are communicated by Simon Billenness of Franklin Research and Development and then mass distributed by FBC chapters and Zar Ni. While ICT encourages all of us to contact them, I think that in going forward it will be very important and effective if ICT informs SFT through National Office and RDs of actions and timeframe for actions. ICT can be reached at the following:
International Campaign for Tibet
1825 K Street, NW #520
Washington, D.C. 20006
202-785-1515
202-785-4343 (fax)
ict@peacenet.org
Lodi Gyari, President
John Ackerly, Director
Buchung K. Tsering, Communications Director
Mary Beth Markey, Director of Government Relations
Maya Crawford, Interfaith Action
Lesley Friedell, Program Assistant
Students for a Free Tibet
Regional Directors
Region 1: Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, North Dakota, South Dakota, Alaska, Nebraska
Tashi Dolma Gyaltsong, Univ. of Washington
206-775-0935
tashi@u.washington.edu
Sarah Rogers, Univ. of Washington
206-729-8192
svrogers@u.washington.edu
Region 2: Nevada, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, California,
Hawaii, Kansas
Suzanne Bessenger
818-799-2459
marcosfan@aol.com
Jade Netanya Ullman, Naropa
303-415-1424
Region 3: Texas, OK, Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi,
alabama, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina
Misty Blake Herrin
706-548-6051
mherrin@uga.cc.uga.edu
Region 4: Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana
Jennifer Barrett, Western Michigan University
616-373-2814
Aaron Jorgensen
515-264-8290
97adj@williams.edu
Region 5: Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, Delaware
Adam B. Bell, Oberlin
216-775-6602
adam.bell@oberlin.edu
Nessim Halioua, Kempsville High School
757-474-9430
Region 6: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island
Tenley Palsang, Winsor High
617-323-3809
Noah Raford, Brown University
401-863-5237
Noah_Raford@brown.edu
Region 7: Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania
Becky Schwartz
860-685-4142
rschwartz@wesleyan.edu
Evan Silverman
718-380-0086
LouisS19@aol.com
Canada:
Namgyal Goff, Univ. of Waterloo
519-725-7025
ndgoff@science2.watstar.uwaterloo.ca
Pemma Mentuh
416-966-8781
dmentuh@imcan.com
Pubu Mentuh
416-746-9181
dmentuh@imcan.com
Advisors:
Jigme Phuntsok, Southampton High School
Tenzin Norgay, Southampton High School
SFT Committees:
Economic Action - Focus on economic actions and campaigns that SFT
will focus on in conjunction with other Tibet Support Groups such as Milarepa Fund. Milarepa Fund has initiated dialogue with CEO of Holiday Inn Bryan Langton. SFT chapters have in turn sent letters to Holiday Inn at their headquarters in Atlanta GA educating HI of the consequences of doing business in Tibet. This campaign is underway and further actions and timeframes for actions will be planned. In addition, the committee will be responsible for laying out strategy for selective purchasing, boycotts, and divestment. To get on this committee, send email to ustcsft@igc.apc.org and mention you would like to be on this committee. It's email address is sft-econ@tibet.org.
Political Action - Focus on urgent action, lobbying on the local, state, national and international/UN levels. Discuss additional training requirements - e.g. in Washington, D.C. and how SFT can work with the International Campaign for Tibet and other political action groups in furthering the cause of a free Tibet. Current urgent actions include Ngawang Choephel, the Panchen Lama and Phuntsok Nyidron and nuns in Drapchi prison. Had to include this - have petitions in your dorms (someone just phoned and mentioned this - of course, brilliant!). To get on this committee, send email to ustcsft@igc.apc.org and mention you would like to be on this committee. It's email address is sft-political@tibet.org.
Interfaith Action - Create interfaith actions on campuses to gather together religious clubs and get them to do simple actions for Tibet.
Build coalitions with religious, social justice groups, host events and work toward universal and religious freedom, and help to secure the release of the Panchen Lama. To get on this committee, send email to ustcsft@igc.apc.org and mention you would like to be on this committee. It's email address is sft-interfaith@tibet.org.
Coordinated Action - Identify events and key calendar dates to conduct actions and activities. These actions and events could fit into the overall economic and political action campaigns. Exammples include the Tibetan Freedom Tour (in process), the Ngawang Choephel Urgent Action, Panchen Lama Urgent Action, Holiday Inn Campaign, March 10 Uprising, December 10 Human Rights Day, etc. These events need to be coordinated with other Tibet Support Groups and the Tibetan communities. This committee should also identify effective ways for networking and coordinating actions with other coalition groups - e.g. East Timor Action Network, Free Burma Coalition, Taiwan Independence, etc. To get on this committee, please send email to ustcsft@igc.apc.org and mention you would like to be on this committee. It's email address is sft-coord@tibet.org.
Building Bridges - The objectives of this committee are to: 1) build bridges with the Tibetan community; 2) expand SFT globally e.g. Canada, India, Japan, Europe, Australia, South America, etc. and 3) open a dialogue with the Chinese community - especially Chinese students. Among the actions discussed include: 1) obtain comprehensive list of Tibetan addresses, get updated resource list of TSGs, translate the mission statement of SFT into different languages, begin a SFT newsletter providing a forum to comment on these various issues, and to promote cross-cultural dialogue with youth via programs (e.g. Legacy International, etc.). To get on this committee, please send email to ustcsft@igc.apc.org and mention you would like to be on this committee. It's email address is sft-bridge@tibet.org. Note: Australia Tibet Council has announced that promoting SFT is a priority for 1997! Also, Casa Tibet Mexico is also organizing SFT in Mexico! Also, there are now 19 chapters of SFT in universities in India than
ks to Manoj Kumar Singh (phone = 91-11-6164847 at Post Box 10517, JNU, New Delhi - 110067) of All India Students for a Free Tibet. Manoj is now proposing a SFT International Conference next year!!!
Financing Student Movement - This committee will focus on SFT's needs from a fundraising perspective. Cover both current and future needs on local and national levels. Discuss needs surrounding educational materials, operational costs, campaign and event costs, merchandise, promotional materials, newsletters, etc. Fundraising and coordinated events coincide with each other. This committee is critical to ensuring that we can support the needs of the rapidly growing movement. The committee sees that appropriate financing is required to operate effectively. Furthermore, we don't want to be imaged as bean counters but as compassionate freedom fighters! To get on this committee, please send email to ustcsft@igc.apc.org and mention you would like to be on this committee. It's email address is sft-finance@tibet.org.
Outreach and Mobilization - Dedicated to outreach, recruitment, and educational projects. Discuss how SFT can mobilize itself by reaching out to other high schools and colleges. Set up a mentor program. Also strengthen coalitions with other campus and community organizations. To get on this committee, please send email to ustcsft@igc.apc.org and mention you would like to be on this committee. It's email address is being set up now.
OTHER -
WEBWORK: Website help, contact David Jacobs at djacobs@cs.oberlin.edu
Visit website at http://www.tibet.org/SFT
SFT NEWSLETTER: Any volunteers?
NYC OFFICE HELP: Need help with mailings - twice a week for 3 hours.
DONATIONS: National office needs donations. To make donations through your chapter, organization or self, please make check to U.S.
Tibet Committee with memo note stating "SFT" and send to SFT at 241 East 32nd St. NY, NY 10016. Tax deductible through U.S. Tibet
Committeee 501(c)(3) non-profit status.
